Study finds that cancer-causing gene crucial in stem cell development

Athens, Ga. – Stem cells might be thought of as trunks in the tree of life. All multi-cellular organisms have them, and they can turn into a dazzling variety other cells—kidney, brain, heart or skin, for example. One class, pluripotent stem cells, has the capacity to turn into virtually any cell type in the body, making them a focal point in the development of cell therapies, the conquering of age-old diseases or even regrowing defective body parts.

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Stem cell technology applied to liver diseases

Great excitement greeted the discovery a few years ago that certain cells from mice and humans could be reprogrammed to become inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), as they hold promise for cell replacement therapy and modeling human disease. Two independent research groups — one led by Ludovic Vallier, at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and the other led by Holger Willenbring, at the University of California San Francisco — have now shown that both possibilities are true for iPS cell–derived liver cells known as hepatocytes.

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Human umbilical cord blood cells aid lab animal brain cell survival after simulated stroke

Researchers find conflicting results on inflammatory processes

Human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCB) used to treat cultured rat brain cells (astrocytes) deprived of oxygen appear to protect astrocytes from cell death after stroke-like damage, reports a team of researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair.

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Stem cell versatility could help tissue regeneration

Scientists have reprogrammed stem cells from a key organ in the immune system in a development that could have implications for tissue regeneration

Scientists have reprogrammed stem cells from a key organ in the immune system in a development that could have implications for tissue regeneration.

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Human neural stem cells restore motor function in mice with chronic spinal cord injury

UCI study is first to show reversal of long-term hind-limb paralysis

Irvine, Calif., Aug. 19, 2010 — A UC Irvine study is the first to demonstrate that human neural stem cells can restore mobility in cases of chronic spinal cord injury, suggesting the prospect of treating a much broader population of patients.

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Natural lung material is promising scaffold for engineering lung tissue using embryonic stem cells

New Rochelle, NY, August 19, 2010—The first successful report of using cell-depleted lung as a natural growth matrix for generating new rat lung from embryonic stem cells is presented in a breakthrough article in Tissue Engineering, Part A, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (www.liebertpub.com). The article is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/ten

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Repairing spinal cord injury with manipulated neural stem cells

One of the most common causes of disability in young adults is spinal cord injury. Currently, there is no proven reparative treatment. Hope that neural stem cells (NSCs) might be of benefit to individuals with severe spinal cord injury has now been provided by the work of a team of researchers, led by Kinichi Nakashima, at Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, in a mouse model of this devastating condition.

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Mayo’s ’smart’ adult stem cells repair hearts

‘Landmark work’ moves beyond the bench

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic investigators, with Belgian collaborators, have demonstrated that rationally “guided” human adult stem cells can effectively heal, repair and regenerate damaged heart tissue. The findings — called “landmark work” in an accompanying editorial — appear in today’s Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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Einstein scientist discovers stem cell ‘partnership’ that could advance regenerative medicine

Contact: Kim Newman
sciencenews@einstein.yu.edu
718-430-3101
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
August 16, 2010 ─ (BRONX, NY) ─ A study led by a researcher at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has revealed a unique “partnership” between two types of bone marrow stem cells, which could lead to advances in regenerative medicine. The aim of regenerative medicine is to enable the body to repair, replace, restore or regenerate damaged or diseased cells, tissues and organs.

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Scientists successfully use human induced pluripotent stem cells to treat Parkinson’s in rodents

Technologies developed at the Buck Institute can speed the manufacturing of authentic neurons from stem cells for future clinical applications

Researchers at the Buck Institute for Age Research have successfully used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to treat rodents afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The research, which validates a scalable protocol that the same group had previously developed, can be used to manufacture the type of neurons needed to treat the disease and paves the way for the use of iPSC’s in various biomedical applications. Results of the research, from the laboratory of Buck faculty Xianmin Zeng, Ph.D., are published August 16, 2010 in the on-line edition of the journal Stem Cells.

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